Ethanol plant plan explained

Company officials tell public where they'll get water to run the Schuylkill fuel-maker.

November 09, 2006|By Chris Parker Of The Morning Call

Developers of a planned $300 million ethanol plant in Schuylkill County believe the project will create jobs and boost the economy.

But neighbors worry that it will pull water from wells, create dangerous traffic problems and emit contaminants into the air.

Joliett resident Shirley Wagner said she is concerned about the large amount of water the plant will use -- up to 1,000 gallons a minute, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"My first concern is the proximity of the plant to the villages of Joliett, Keffers and Good Spring," Wagner told company officials at a public meeting Wednesday. "My second concern is the possibility of what's going to happen to our water supply. With the amount of water they need, what happens if they deplete our water?"

Green Renewable Energy, Ethanol and Nutrition officials, the developers, held the public information session, their second such forum, at the Joliett Fire Company.

The plant, to be built in Porter Township, will eventually produce, store and distribute ethanol fuel.

David Fink, Green Renewable's vice president of operations, said water for the plant will come from the Lincoln, Westwood and Tracy mine pools in Porter Township and surrounding areas.

Each minute, the plant would discharge 200 to 300 gallons of cleaned water into the Rausch Creek.

Jeffrey Dershem, chief executive officer of Green Renewable, said the company is applying for permits from the Susquehanna River Basin Commission to use the mine pool water.

The company has dug test wells on the property. It is monitoring groundwater now and will continue monitoring after construction.

Dershem said the company expects to begin importing ethanol, a grain alcohol that is added to gasoline to create a cleaner-burning fuel, from plants in the Midwest until the Porter Township plant is operating.

The ethanol should start coming in by rail in March, Dershem has said. The plant should begin turning out its own product by late 2008.

"I think its a good thing," Anna Koch of Tremont said at Wednesday's meeting. "It's going to give a lot of jobs around here."

Dershem has said the project would create 50 to 60 permanent technical jobs paying $45,000 to $60,000 a year.

The company is also buying the adjacent Westwood energy plant, Green Renewable treasurer Jack McNamee said.

"We'll be taking the steam from the plant," he said. "That's where we'll be getting our energy."

Plans for the ethanol plant, which will have a 50-acre footprint, are moving ahead with help from $1.61 million state grant to build rail lines.

The plant is expected to turn 40 million bushels of corn into 100 million gallons of ethanol each year.

On Wednesday, developers submitted their land development proposal to the Schuylkill County Planning Commission. County commissioners in May approved zoning changes that would ease construction of alternative energy plants such the ethanol facility.

Had the commissioners not approved the zoning law change, Dershem would have had to request a variance from the county Zoning Hearing Board.

Porter Township is too small to have a zoning board or planning commission.

Dershem said he has applied for two air quality permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Perry A. Pillar of Joliett said he is concerned about emissions, among other things.

"Can anyone guarantee there is no possibility of short or long-term health problems related to this plant?" Pillar asked. Company officials said the emissions will be within safety ranges established by state and federal environmental agencies.

Until the plant goes into production -- Dershem figures that will be in September 2008 -- the company will bring in ethanol from the Midwest, where most of the plants are operating, and distribute the fuel elsewhere.

The plant, which would go up near Interstate 81's Tremont exit in Porter Township, originally was scheduled to begin operating by December 2007, but was delayed while developers studied whether there were any unmapped mines under the site.

The state grant will help enormously, Dershem said.

Last month, Gov. Ed Rendell allocated $1.61 million of a $20 million rail grant package to Green Holdings to build rail track and switches to connect the plant to the Reading Blue Mountain and Northern's Good Springs branch, first, to allow for shipments in of ethanol and, eventually, of grain products needed to produce fuel.

The railroad also will get $600,000 to support the project by putting ties under the Tremont branch to help handle the new loads.

While Dershem navigates government regulations to build his plant, ethanol is gaining a foothold in the state.

No gas station in Pennsylvania sells the 10 percent ethanol/90 percent gasoline blend that regular vehicles can use, but motorists can buy blends that contain less ethanol, Dershem said.

Most cars can use gasoline with up to 10 percent added ethanol, and some are being built to run on a gasoline mixture that is 85 percent ethanol.

In July, the Sheetz chain announced it would become the first retailer in the state to offer E85, a blend of 85 percent ethanol, and 15 percent gasoline. Later this year, the chain will offer the fuel in the Pittsburgh area, according to the DEP.